Conclusion

Abstract

So we have seven films strung together via some form of irony all of which take pains to present themselves as comedies or as belonging to what is more generally regarded as the “comedic” genre. However, the instruction to seriousness in each comes in select moments of liberation, where history, or what we take to be a world beyond the world of the film proper, intrudes upon our sensibilities. This is quite apparent in our first three films. Reitman’s startling and intrusive use of real-life footage—testimonies of actual victims of the collapse of the Western banking system—reminds us that however lightly and playfully we are to receive the romantic quest between Ryan and Alex going on before our eyes, the quest exists against a backdrop of severe social desperation. Moreover, what has the ultimate failure of that quest to do with those who seem far more desperate and far more removed from any considerations of what we think of as romance? Tropic Thunder is certainly a fictional film, but it fictionalizes the conventions of non-fiction, including unreal movie trailers, unreal media gossip, and an unreal “reality” in which we are watching the supposed filming of the actual Tropic Thunder this film is named after. The startling and arresting direct-to-camera monologue of JCVD makes a similar plea for real-life, authentic sympathy as Up in the Air (“So I really hope nobody’s gonna pull a trigger in this post office.…So, today, I pray to god. I truly believe it’s not a movie. It’s real life. Real life.”). Though Winnebago Man does the same, naturally, we know we are watching non-fiction; yet who deserves our sympathy? The moment the “real” invades and we see past all the contrived narrative searches for meaning and significance is the moment we realize we have been effectively “doubled” with the audience whom we are watching watch Jack Rebney. The Trotsky forces us to consider how far we are willing to let even a fictionalized reincarnation of Leon Trotsky guide our desires for a happy conclusion. Is it happy or farcical that the real Leon Trotsky married a girl named Alexandra, or that he met up with a colleague and confidante named Vladimir Ulyanov? That is, how charming is Leon Bronstein’s pretend-fantasy? How much, or how far along, are we willing to follow to ensure it succeeds? Reality intrudes on Be Kind Rewind when we must ponder our obligations toward the real-life historical account of Fats Waller and the fictionalized fictional version we are presented with. Lastly, Hamlet 2 uses the curious device of a supporting actress playing herself in a movie that is fundamentally not about her to effectively parody, or problematize, our relationship to reality.